Week 134 Update

It was 04:40 this morning, and the temperature was 43Ý when I woke up and stepped up on Mr. Scale. He said, "186.0 pounds!"

My average for points-per-day for the week was 45.64, down 3.21 points-per-day. On my highest day I went 3.36 points over that average, and on my lowest day I went 4.14 points below. So, I ate within a 7.75 point window all week, with it's center located at 45.25 points, which was only 0.39 points below my actual average for the week. I never ate outside of the 40s for the entire week.

I am fast coming up on the completion of my second year in my target weight range. I have now logged 102 consecutive weekly weigh-ins at or under 187.0 pounds, filling out my first year with 52 weigh-ins, and now getting close to finishing year two with 50 weigh-ins. The time has certainly gone by quickly.

While I have struggled with water retention, due to the medications I have been taking, I have not struggled with eating in control, nor with eating within my target range of points. Last week on vacation, when my back was not giving me much trouble, I had a very easy time keeping my weight right where I wanted it. This week, I had to work harder at doing that, but all and all things are still going well on my journey. I look at my weight graphs – Losing, Maintenance year 1, and Maintenance year 2 – and I feel very good about where my journey has taken me for the last 938 days. It has been gratifying to see others join me in my journey; even including a couple of coworkers (and recently watching one of them reach goal). In the area of exercise, in spite of it being my weakest area so far, I am now very happy with my progress, and have actually helped get some other people out hiking and walking as well.

When you start doing positive things, you just never know how much improvement you will make. It often provides a happy surprise when you find that your results are not only far beyond what you expected for yourself, but the "George Bailey Effect" reaches out to others and impacts their lives in positive ways as well. And then they do the same thing for those around them. (Dotti was the foundation of my journey, through her example, and she has reached out and touch so many people with what she has done! There never would have been an "Al's Journey" without Dotti's "George Bailey Effect.")

Eating and Weight – On Saturday, I weighed in at 185.5, in Spokane, before we loaded up the van and headed southwest towards home. I ended up skipping breakfast, other than a cup of coffee (1 point). During the six-hour drive, I ate 10 points worth of snacks in the car. We also stopped at the halfway point and grabbed lunch and a Starbuck's coffee. That came to 14.5 points. I added 16 more points for dinner and snacks in the evening, for a total of 41.5 points for the day. Sunday morning I weighed 184.5. I ate 48.5 points, and Monday the scale moved up to 185.0, hitting my target weight exactly. I ate 49.0 points, but also took some pain medication, and Tuesday the scale said 188.5. I held my points down to 42.0 and Wednesday it dropped to 187.5. I took no medications for the rest of the week, and for this day I ate 45.0 points. Thursday I was back up to 188.0, and I ate 47.5 points. On Friday I was at 188.5 in the morning. I held my points to 46.0, and I drank more water, especially in the form of Wild Raspberry Herbal Tea, which seems to clean out my system especially well. This morning I was back down to 186.0.

Exercise – I started off slowly again on my exercise, but I made a pretty good comeback. After skipping any exercise on Saturday, when we drove back, and on Sunday when we put up our Christmas decorations, I finally got back onto the walking trail on Monday; but not without some effort.

I felt as though the gods were conspiring against me all week: Zeus laid heavy rain on the area; Hermes put confusion on the roads; Zephyrus set the winds to howling; and Krhonos stole the time that I had cultivated on most mornings.

Monday morning it was the rain, slowing traffic greatly, and my early start evaporated (and evaporation is no mean feat when you have 100% humidity as we did that morning). But when lunch rolled around I was ready. It had been nearly a week and a half since I last took a walk. I did 3 miles in 42:53, with each mile going slower than the last. (13:55; 14:13; 14:45) That was good for 8.59 aerobic points. My legs felt a little weak at the end of the walk. I could definitely tell that I had not been walking regularly for a while.

Tuesday, I once again left early, only to arrive too late to walk. When lunch arrived, I didn't feel up to walking, and so I got no exercise that day.

Wednesday, I arrived early enough to get in a walk but only a mile's worth. I completed the one mile in 13:39, which gave me 2.39 aerobic points, and brought my total miles for the week to an anemic 4. Even though I only had two more days to go. I still couldn’t force myself out to walk at lunch.

Thursday was a blustery day. Wind gusts up over 50 mph slowed traffic down, and even though I had a real early start, I ended up only having enough time for a 1.3 miles walk before work. I completed that in 16:19 (12:33 per mile, or 4.78 mph), which gave me 4.03 aerobic points. I was in a hurry due to lack of time, and so I ran on the downhill portions of the "walk." That sped up my time quite a bit.

At lunch I knew that I was way behind my normal walking schedule. I had only walked 5.3 miles so far, and this was day 6 for the week. I really boosted my distance for the week by walking 4 miles during lunch! I completed the walk in 56:17, which gave me another 12.05 aerobic points, and brought my total for the week to 9.3 miles, and 27.07 aerobic points.

Friday, I knew I only needed just under 3 aerobic points to reach my goal of 30. I also knew that walking 1.3 miles should be more than enough to get those aerobic points. At lunch I set out in the rain and finished the 1.3 miles in 18:02. When I wrote the time down in my notebook, I was surprised that my time was so slow compared with what I had done on Thursday morning. I was a little concerned that I had not gotten the 3 aerobic points that I needed to hit my goal. However, I worried for nothing, because when I ran the calculations, I found that it was worth 3.31 aerobic points, and pushed me over the top for my goal. I had forgotten that I had done some running on my "walk" the day before and that is why my time was so much faster. My time on Friday was actually pretty good: 13:52 per mile, or 4.32 mph. I wasn't setting any records, but I was moving along okay.

Overall, I got 30.38 aerobic points for my exercise, and I walked 10.6 miles for the week, which is not bad. I don't actually have a goal for miles walked each week, but I like to get into double digits anyway.

Water – I did well with my water this week. Each day I drank at least my minimum of 6 cups. I averaged drinking 59.43 ounces (7.43 cups) per day, which is in my minimum target range of 6 to 8 cups per day.

Week's Evaluation – I am very happy with the results for this week. I ended up inside my target weight range this morning, and I even averaged 186.79 for my weight all week, putting my average weight within my target range as well. For exercise, though having to do a lot the last couple of days, I was able to reach my goal of 30 aerobic points, while walking over 10 miles for the week. My water consumption hit my goal as well. So, I consider this week a success!

For thousands of years, this has been considered a magical time of year. The decorated trees, the Yule Log, and the other trappings of the season go back into unrecorded history. We bring the once new year to its end, and ready ourselves to begin a new one. This month days draw to their shortest lengths and then begin to grow longer once more, pointing to the coming spring, even as we begin the coldest season of the year. And on so many lips we will find the magical phrase: MERRY CHRISTMAS! I just love this time of year!!!

2 years, 208 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/186.0/180Ý2/BMI:23.25/WK-134
Weight Loss Graph/Year 1 Maint. Graph/Year 2 Maint. Graph/Success Story